Couple shares soil health message

By Candace KrebsContributing Writer

Friday

Dec 7, 2018 at 11:23 AMDec 8, 2018 at 7:10 PM

The tree you see is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and the roots that lie hidden below the ground are not unlike the mysterious universe of invisible microbes that exist in and around the human body, often referred to as the human microbiome.

"The root and the gut are parallel systems, with roles in nutrient acquisition and processing, immunity and self-defense," biologist and author Anne Bikle observed recently.

The "hidden half of nature" is an endless source of fascination to Bikle and her geologist husband, David Montgomery. The two are a team, speaking and writing jointly while holding academic positions in their respective fields at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Montgomery's geology research, which specializes in the study of the history of the surface of the earth, combined with Bikle's interests in biology, horticulture and gardening,merge together to offer a broad perspective on environmental and human health and agriculture's potential role in furthering both.

The couple, who make appearances jointly and independently to discuss their work in front of conservation, grazing and sustainable farming audiences, will be back on the meeting circuit this winter attending events across the region.

Montgomery is scheduled to return as keynote speaker for the Soil Health Revolution Conference, December 12, in Boulder, presented by Boulder Parks and Open Space and Colorado State University.

In late January, the two will share the stage as alternating headliners at the annual No Till on the Plains Conference in Wichita, Kan.

Montgomery's interest in agriculture came about as he studied the failures of human civilizations over the course of history and noticed how closely their fate was tied to land stewardship, a story he chronicles in Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization.

"As a geologist, it pains me to see soil bleeding off of the landscape," he observed recently.

Climate change grabs headlines, but Montgomery believes soil degradation is a bigger issue. He also thinks the environmental damage done by deforestation pales in comparison to the consequences of adopting the plow.

He notes that, over the last half-century, pesticide sales rose in tandem with escalating reliance on commercial fertilizer.

"Herbicide puts us on a treadmill with nature. It becomes an arms race," he said.

Farmers by necessity have relied on the best science available at the time, he said, but new research now calls for "a course correction."

He encapsulates that approach through what he refers to as conservation agriculture, which is based on three principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent ground cover, and a diversity of crops. grown in rotation, which together form a kind of "agronomic jiu-jitsu."

He outlines this concept — and highlights farmers worldwide who have made pioneering strides in adopting it — in his latest book, Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life.

Input from his wife, Bikle, the biologist and gardener, helps to bring his observations full circle.

Together the two collaborated on another best-selling book, The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health.

"More than half of nature is hidden from our view," she said recently at a joint book-signing event. "We now know that the microbes in us and on us make up our microbiome, which has become a burgeoning field of study over the last 20 years."

She contends there's a connection between failing to feed the microbes in the soil by becoming overly reliant on chemical inputs and the poor quality of the modern American diet.

As evidence, she notes that over the last century, while infectious diseases were going down, autoimmune diseases were going up.

Just as farmers need to nurture healthy functioning soil and vibrant microbial life to optimize plant performance, humans need to think of their digestive system as a pharmacy rather than a "garbage can," she said.

For both the human body and the planet, reversing course can lead to rapid improvements, something she has observed in her own yard in north Seattle, she said.

"Trauma is an opportunity for regeneration. Feed the microbes, give them what they need, and they can come back and regenerate their functionality," she said.

The couple is already at work on their next book, which will explore in greater depth how adoption of conservation agriculture impacts food nutrition and human health.

Montgomery hinted that part of their research will consist of using specialized tools, such as a spectrometer, to compare the actual properties in foods produced with contrasting production methods.

He also said they would explore a question they often get asked: what effect does widespread use of glyphosate herbicides — encouraged by glyphosate-resistant crops — have on soil health and food nutrition?

"That's something our next book will have to wrestle with," he noted. "This is something relatively new to the soil and to the gut. Are there some secondary effects to livestock or humans we don't know about yet?"

Their next book is due to be published in about a year and a half, Mongomery said.

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